Bold effort not enough for valiant Malta pair

An inspiring performance from Lisa Camenzuli and Carol Cassar Torreggiani in yesterday's doubles final at the Marsa Sports Club was still not enough for the Malta pair to beat the dominance of efficient Luxembourg pair Mandy Minella and Claudine Schaul who won the match 6-4 7-5.

Luxembourg dominated the GSSE tennis competitions this year but Minella and Schaul never expected the brave Camenzuli and Cassar Torreggiani to produce such a strong challenge.

In the end, the locals were perhaps undone by an untimely Luxembourg call to halt play when the latter were trailing 5-1 in the second set. Minella had called for medical assistance.

When the Luxembourg players returned on court, Malta's momentum was clearly affected as Camenzuli and Cassar Torreggiani succumbed to six games in a row to lose a set which had earlier seemed likely to head their way.

Malta had a slow start allowing their opponents to break their serve. However, the set then evolved in a tight tussle as the Maltese, with Camenzuli in typical resilient mood and Cassar Torreggiani oozing confidence through her experience, superbly held sway. In the end, it was Schaul's strong serve which decided the issue in favour of Luxembourg who won the set 6-4.

The second set was one-way traffic for Malta until Minella suffered a minor injury and required prolonged treatment. That delay worked in Luxembourg's favour as they returned more focused to win the match and silence the home crowd.

San Marino beat Monaco for bronze in the women's doubles. The men's doubles title went to Luxembourg. They beat Monaco 7-6, 6-1.

GSSE tennis competitions will be rounded up today with the singles finals.